Customer Reviews

The Deadhead's Taping Compendium: An In-Depth Guide to the Music of the Grateful Dead on Tape, 1959-1974

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I find it difficult to express in words how wonderful this book is. Any fan who has ever had a tape of a Grateful Dead show will fall in love from the first lines of the book. Having the shows reviewed by fans of the band, and where possible, those that actually attended these shows, gives the reader the feeling of actually having been at the show. I also echo the comments of another who read this book about "mistakes" in the book: not everyone was able to find the "perfect copy" of every show. Did this skew the reviews? Probably not. As a fan for many years, I have cherised some of the most God-awful sounding shows because of the music.

I send a huge thank-you to Michael Getz & John Dwork for getting this book out to us, and can't wait for the next two!

This book is easily the most comprehensive source of Grateful Dead tapes out there. Take it from a person who has over 4300 hours of Dead on tape, this book is a must have! Get it!

The Compendium finally delivers what all Deadheads really need--a comprehensive resource for tapers and well-written reviews of each show, often from someone who was actually there. The contributers are all enthusiastic, knowledgeable tapers who obviously put a lot of work and love into the project. Now you can find out what shows circulate, as well as the sources and sound quality. The history of Dead taping is excellent (including some thoughts by Owsley himself), and there are lists of "best shows", best versions of songs and the like to help you choose what to trade for. I can't wait for the next volumes! Go Getz!

in reference to : "This book should be used as a guideline for enhancing the experience of Grateful Dead taping and tape trading - not as a Bible. No Bible will ever exist for all the shows the band played because some were unfortunately either never taped or the tapes were lost to time."

Well...I believe that the grateful dead themselves should be the judge of that. They are the ones who possess almost all recorded versions of shows in existence. Only then should a comprehensive "bible" of tapes be published/.